Meteosat Second Generation Central Facility

Artist's impression of the Meteosat-8 satellite
Artist's impression of the Meteosat-8 satellite
© EUMETSAT (click to enlarge)

The Meteosat Second Generation Central Facility (MSG CF) is a highly automated satellite control system developed by SciSys for EUMETSAT, where it has been used to support the MSG mission since 2002. The MSG CF draws on SciSys' extensive experience in the provision of quality satellite control systems.

A Meteosat-8 RGB composite image showing a picture of the earth
Meteosat-8 RGB composite © EUMETSAT
(click to enlarge)

The MSG CF is now successfully operating both the Meteosat-8 and Meteosat-9 geostationary weather satellites.

A total of four MSG satellites will eventually replace the original Meteosat series. Meteosat-8 is already regularly delivering superb quality images. Meteosat-9 is currently being commissioned in orbit at 6.5° West and will be moved to 0° when it becomes operational. The third MSG satellite is stored in preparation for launch. The new MSG satellite-fleet will provide continuous service to its users until at least 2018.

A diagram of MSG CF Logical Architecture
MSG CF Logical Architecture (click to enlarge)

The MSG CF monitors and controls both the MSG satellites and the entire ground segment, and provides the functionality for the mission operations, satellite and ground segment control. The MSG CF has recently been ported to Windows 2000 for both on-line workstations and the off-line PCs.

The MSG CF employs a wide variety of COTS packages including SciSys' state-of-the-art APEX procedure automation toolkit and distributed Oracle databases. The design complies with industry standards such as CORBA.

The MSG CF comprises the following components: